Pure Fashion Atlanta’s teen models appeared on a local Christian television station for a fashion show and interviews.

In an interview with Brenda Sharman, Pure Fashion model Mikela Gordon encouraged young women to see themselves as a gift.

Watch a video of the fashion show here. Watch
interviews with the models here.

January 12, 2009. Atlanta, GA.
“Modesty is really an outward reflection of an interior attitude,”
says Brenda Sharman, the national director of the Pure
Fashion apostolate. It’s not just about what you wear; it’s
about how you see yourself and the dignity that you
present to other people.”

For the Pure Fashion models who
presented holiday outfits from Belk at Phipps Plaza in Atlanta
this past December 12, dignity and beauty were both the
medium and the message. A total of seven young women
put on a short fashion show, which was aired by
a local Christian television station called Atlanta’s 57. The
fashion show was featured on “Atlanta Live,” a television
show hosted by John Griffin, the owner of Christian Living
Magazine. A video clip of the fashion show can be
viewed here.

In an interview just prior to the fashion
show, Brenda Sharman told John Griffin that Pure Fashion is
not just about clothes; it’s also about teaching young women
how to discover and respect their own personal dignity in
a world that tends to objectify beautiful women.

Changing the

Catherine Sharp models a holiday outfit from Belk.

Culture

“We’re hoping to cultivate a whole new group of young
women who respect their dignity and respect others, and who
really want to uplift people’s hearts and minds and not
drag them into the gutter,” she said.

As living proof
of that goal, the show moved to the runway at
Phipps Plaza in Atlanta, where teen models Catherine Sharp, Yasmeen
Amirhoessini, Lauren Scales, Allison Boyle, Meghan Flanigan, Laura Boyle, and
Mikela Gordon presented a series of holiday “going out on
the town” ensembles from Belk department store.

After the fashion
show, the girls were interviewed on stage by Brenda Sharman.
To watch the interviews, click here.

When asked what aspect
of the Pure Fashion program she found most interesting, Yasmeen,
a student at Holy Spirit Preparatory School, said that
she liked the mall mission. In a mall mission, the
girls go out and visit different stores, evaluating the underlying
message of the clothes, the way the mannequins are dressed
(or not dressed), the type and volume of music played
in the store, the variety (or lack) of options, the
images on display, and even the fragrances used to create
ambiance in the store.

“If we didn’t think [a store

Yasmeen Amirhoessini: part of the fashion solution.

met] Pure Fashion guidelines we would talk to the manager
and tell him what we thought they should change,” explained
Yasmeen. She said that after one conversation with a store
manager, he immediately changed the clothes on a store mannequin
so that it would be dressed more modestly.

A small
change? Maybe. But a change nonetheless. These girls were making
a difference in the culture right in their own mall.

“Think
of Yourself as a Gift”

In her interview, another young model,
Mikela, said that Pure Fashion has given her a totally
different outlook on clothes because it has helped her to
see that she can be an example to her peers
with the way she dresses.

“I realized I can be
an example,” she said, “because we have to change our
culture, one outfit at a time!”

When asked what message
she would like to share with other young women who
might be watching the program, Mikela said, “I like to
say, think of yourself as a gift – in light
of the Christmas season. Who would like their gift unwrapped?
I think of myself as a gift being wrapped and
saved for my husband.”

Megan, a 16-year-old student

After the show… the models strike a pose.

at Pinecrest Academy, also saw how important it is
to set a good example at home for her siblings.

“I’ve
always dressed modestly because I have a lot of brothers,”
she said. “I want to help them know that they
have to look for a modest girlfriend as well.”

Pure Fashion’s goal is not to impose a dictatorship of
style, but to help each girl discover and bring out
her total beauty—including the beauty of a virtuous and giving
spirit.

This fashion show is only one of the many
smaller “satellite” shows that will be taking place on a
local level this season in Atlanta as a way of
reaching out to more people with a message that can
rebuild a culture of personal dignity.

For more information about
Pure Fashion and its shows in the United States, Canada,
and around the world, visit the Pure Fashion web site
at www.PureFashion.com.

(Note: Video clips of Atlanta Live footage
are posted with permission from Atlanta´s 57.)